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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. track — to keep track
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. track — a path
  8. stock — goods
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wax — to grow
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. pit — in a race
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. track — a song
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com